Social TV: How Survivor’s Jeff Probst Bridged the Gap Between CBS and Its Audience

When Jeff Probst starting live-tweeting Survivor last season, he did it because he wanted to, not because CBS asked him to. But just two episodes later, the network was encouraging fans to follow @JeffProbst before every commercial break. This season, he’s both live-tweeting and answering viewer questions in 15-second video clips using Tout, and the fan response has been overwhelmingly positive. We talked to Probst about how he convinced CBS that live-tweeting was worthwhile, and why Ozzy has the fans to thank for his return to Survivor.

TVGuide.com: The first time you live-tweeted an episode, you said something like, “C’mon, guys, let’s prove to CBS how cool this is.” Were you getting pushback from the network about tweeting? Jeff Probst: Initially, CBS just didn’t…

Comments

WGGB encourages readers to share their thoughts and engage in healthy dialogue about the issues. Comments containing personal attacks, profanity, offensive language or advertising will be removed. Please use the report comment function for any posts you feel should be reviewed. Thank you.